Tears and Blood
by Stinkfly3
Summary: In an alternate timeline, Corey and Trina were never sent to the surface world by their father. So what happens when Corey meets Laney after all those years? Does he have an impact on her personality, or is she still the same as she is in the current timeline? Inspired by the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk.
1. Demon Boy

Once upon a time, in a town called Peaceville, there lived a 12-year-old girl named Laney Penn. She was the most beautiful girl in town with long red hair that felt incredibly soft and dazzling dark green eyes. Her choice of outfits were long-sleeved casual dresses and black boots. Yet despite her natural beauty, she had no friends and was incredibly shy. Why you may ask? She suffered from a medical condition known as Chronic Social Anxiety.

For as long as she could remember, Laney couldn't speak. Not because of a birth problem. She knew her vocal chords worked. But when she tried to say something, she would get nervous and words couldn't come out of her mouth. Her appearance even gave it away with her nervous gaze and her hair covering her left eye. In fact, she was so concerned with her looks, she felt it was necessary for her to wear makeup, so she chose black eyeshadow and eyeliner to make her eyes look darker. By now, everyone knew she was better off alone.

That is, until one fateful day...

* * *

"Come on, Laney," Mrs. Penn said, taking her on a walk in the local forest. "Don't you think nature is fascinating?"

Of course, Laney didn't respond. She didn't get why her mother brought her out here. She was out here in a dark blue long-sleeved casual dress and her favorite black books, and there wasn't anything interesting going on. What was so special about nature walks anyway? All she saw was a bunch of loose sticks on the ground, flying insects, a mud-covered boy laying near a tree-

Huh?

Laney closely. Sure enough, there was a boy laying near a tree. He was covered in mud, so it was hard to see him. She walked up to her mother and gently tugged her arm. "Laney, do you see something?" Mrs. Penn asked.

Laney responded by taking her mother over to the boy. Upon closer inspection, the he looked like he was around Laney's age. His arms and legs were intact, and he was only wearing black shorts. Fortunately, seeing as his chest was moving up and down, he was still breathing.

"Should we tell someone?" Mrs. Penn asked. Laney shook her head in response, wanting to help this boy. "Are you trying to tell me we should take him home?" Mrs. Penn asked, to which Laney happily nodded in response. "Well... Okay."

But when Mrs. Penn used both arms to carry the boy, something strange happened. When he was lifted from the mud-covered ground, he was revealed to have red and black bat-like wings an armored tail with a spade tip, and four extra arms. Mrs. Penn gasped, dropping him back on the ground. But Laney was a brave girl. She slowly walked up to the boy and wiped the mud from his face, revealing short black horns on his forehead and bright red skin. She looked up at her mother, silently begging to take him home.

"Laney, sweetie, I don't think it's a good idea," Mrs. Penn said. "He doesn't look human."

Laney whimpered, insisting to bring him home. "Okay, dear," Mrs. Penn said. "Only because you want to help him."

* * *

When the Penns got back home, Laney immediately started bathing the mysterious boy. With the mud gone, his body was completely visible. He was well built with broad shoulders and a nice four-pack, but his torso was covered in strange green markings while a blue and black demonic pentagram marked his right shoulder. His hands and feet were rough with ivory claws on his fingers and toes. His shaggy hair was a light shade of grey, the same color as silver. All in all, despite his demonic features, he was quite handsome.

As Laney applied shampoo to his hair, the boy moaned. He slowly opened his eyes, which were all-black with pale green pupils. Realizing where he was, his eyes were fully opened and he sat up in surprise and hissed, exposing his sharp fangs. But Laney didn't look scared. Instead, she continued to wash his hair, massaging his scalp in the process.

The boy relaxed from the girl's gentle touch, a soft purr emitting from his throat. He leaned back, deeply relaxed. Laney smiled as she cupped her hands with water to rinse out the shampoo, getting rid of any mud that was stuck in his hair. She wasn't sure what this boy was, but she knew he wasn't a threat.

* * *

When the boy was all dried and his black shorts were on, Laney brought him to her room. He was amazed by all the unicorns, teen magazines, and boy band stuff he saw. While he observed, Laney noticed he was walking on all eights (due to his four extra arms) and meowing. He was behaving like a cat for some reason, sparking her interest. She walked up to him and tried to say something. Of course, no words came out her mouth.

The boy turned his head to look at Laney. He slowly approached her, a dazed look in his eyes. Then, with careful moments, he reached forward and touched her hair. When his clawed fingers came in contact with the red locks, he smiled and meowed again. Laney didn't get why this boy was doing this. Fortunately, she had an idea. She took out a portable chalkboard set from her nightstand drawer and gave it to him. Her mother thought it would help with her social skills, but it didn't work out. Why not give it to this cat-like creature so he could communicate with her?

When the boy got the portable chalkboard set, he started writing a message. Surprisingly, he could pick up the chalk and write legibly. When he was finished, he showed Laney the message he wrote.

**Love your hair.**

Laney smiled. She was thinking about cutting her hair short for a while, and this was the perfect opportunity for her to do it. She could give the leftover locks to the boy as a small gift.

* * *

Back in the upstairs bathroom, Laney showed the boy a pair of scissors, wanting him to see her do this. He was curious about what she was doing, but his expression became a surprised one when she was about to start cutting her own hair. Before she knew it, he used his tail to snatch the scissors from her hand, repeatedly shaking his head.

Laney looked at the boy, trying to ask him why he did that. He responded by leaving the bathroom and coming back with the portable chalkboard set. He quickly wrote a message to her.

**Don't do that! You're already beautiful!**

Laney was surprised. She thought she was better off with shorter hair, but this boy disagreed. He just met her a while ago, and he already thought she was pretty. She muttered something, tilting her head towards the ground. She looked back up when the boy tapped her leg.

**Could you speak up? I didn't hear that.**

Laney muttered again, still unable to speak. The boy frowned.

**Still couldn't hear you.**

Laney took a deep breath and attempted to speak again. But sadly, she muttered again, tears coming from her eyes this time. She grabbed the chalkboard set and wrote a message.

I was thanking you for the compliment. Sorry about my inability to communicate. I have Chronic Social Anxiety, a medical condition that prevents me from speaking.

At this point, Laney and the boy took turns writing on the chalkboard.

**You sure?**

Yes, I'm sure. I was diagnosed seven years ago.

**Don't your vocal chords work?**

They do. I'm just a very shy person. I can't seem to speak without getting nervous and loosing my train of thought.

**Then I'll have to fix that. I hate seeing you like this. With my help, words WILL come out of your mouth.**

Thanks, I guess. My name's Laney, by the way. Laney Penn. You?

**My name? It's Corey Riffin.**


	2. Natural Beauty

After Corey convinced Laney to keep her hair long, he put the scissors back in the bathroom cabinet and they went back to her room. She was about to write a message on the chalkboard, but Corey refused to let it go.

**I need this because I can't talk. Your problem is shyness. If you want to say something, use your mouth.**

Laney tried, but she couldn't. Corey frowned at that. Then he got an idea.

**Would it help if I tell you about myself?**

Laney nodded in response. Corey then proceeded to write several messages due to the limited space of the chalkboard.

**First off, I'm the son of the Underworld king. I spent my whole life living beneath the Earth's surface with him and my older sister Katrina, but she prefers being called Trina since dad gave her that nickname.**

**Life wasn't great for me. I was different from other demons. The first problem was that I didn't grow out of the monster cat stage when I turned three years old on my birthday. It's when young demons behave like cats.**

**Then there was my nature. Since my mom is a human, I was born more human than demon. I wasn't interested in violence and I longed to live on the surface world with mom. But dad had other plans.**

**He treated me like an animal, locking me in cages and force-feeding me tuna. When I didn't listen to him, he attacked me with a whip. It went on for years until I was ten years old. That's when I snapped.**

**Knowing the only problem was my human side, I rejected it and fully embraced my demon side. But by then, it got worse. Dad kept on treating me like an animal, even if he stopped locking me in cages and whipping me.**

**The only way I could end this was to escape. So with the help from my sister and a demon named Otis, a close family friend, I used the Nethervator to get to the surface world. But then I realized my mom wouldn't accept the monster that dad turned me into. I thought it was better for me to stay in the woods until I learn to regain my humanity.**

Laney was surprised to read this. She had no idea Corey's life was horrible. When he was finished writing, he was clearly upset, tears pouring from his eyes. She scratched behind his ear, trying to calm him down. He responded to her touch by smiling and purring, leaning closer to her.

**Thanks Lanes. You're a very nice human.**

* * *

That evening, Laney and Mrs. Penn ate dinner. Corey came downstairs and looked up at the family. He meowed, trying to get their attention. "Hello there, Corey," Mrs. Penn said, remembering what he told her earlier today. "Would you like some food?"

**Do you have any chocolate?**

"Chocolate?" Mrs. Penn repeated.

**Demons love eating chocolate. It's a delicacy in the Underworld.**

"I don't know..." Mrs. Penn said. "If I give you chocolate, are you going to turn evil?"

Corey looked offended. He quickly wrote his response on the chalkboard.

**What?! No! Nothing happens! We demons just really like eating chocolate.**

"Okay then," Mrs. Penn said. "Laney, do we have any chocolate?"

Laney responded by getting up, walking over to the fridge, and taking out a half-eaten chocolate bar. She walked over to Corey and held it out to him. Looking at the chocolate bar, he smiled, broke off a small piece, and ate it.

**What? You expect me to eat the whole thing? I want to save some for tomorrow.**

Laney smiled and patted Corey's head. He was very polite for a demon.

* * *

Later that evening, Laney came back to her room in a pink nightgown. She just came out of the shower, her face free of makeup. Corey was laying on her bed waiting for her. When she entered, he looked at her, grinned, and hopped off the bed to look up at her.

**Your eyes look different.**

Laney knew what Corey met, so she walked over to her dresser and took out her eyeshadow and eyeliner. She showed them to Corey, wanting him to know she used them every day. He frowned at that.

**You use that stuff on your face?**

Laney nodded in response.

**Why? Your emerald green eyes sparkle without it.**

Laney blushed. This was the second time he complimented her. Why was he doing this? Was he being nice? Did he like her? What was going through his head? Before she could think about it some more, Corey took the eyeshadow and eyeliner out of her hands and set them down on the dresser.

**It's bad enough you nearly ruined your perfectly soft red hair. Promise me you'll never use this disgusting black gunk to hide your pretty eyes.**

Laney looked at Corey straight in the eye. He looked sad, tears welling up in his dark eyes. It was hard for her to say 'no' to that face.

**Please?**

Laney sighed. She smiled softly and reached forward to stroke his hair. This boy was changing her, convincing her to not cut her hair and to stop using makeup. Then, without warning, another change occurred.

"Okay Corey. I promise I won't use makeup again."


End file.
